On July 13, 1861, about 3,500 Confederate soldiers under Gen. Robert S. Garnett crossed Shavers Fork here while pursued by Union forces in a desperate effort to slow the enemy. To stall the advance, Garnett posted ten sharpshooters of the 23rd Virginia Infantry behind driftwood along the riverbank. He remained there as bullets crossed the stream, and when he turned to give an order, a shot struck him and he fell from his horse. Federal skirmishers then crossed the ford and found his body among the wildflowers. Robert Garnett was the first general killed during the Civil War.